Štefan Kuffa
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Štefan Kuffa (born 31 December 1961) is a Slovak politician who serves as the State Secretary at the Ministry of Environment. From 2012 to 2016 and again from 2020 to 23 served as a
Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the National Council.


Early life

Kuffa was born on 31 December 1961 in
Kežmarok Kežmarok ( or ; , , , ) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River. Prior to World War I, it was in Szepes county in the Kingdom of Hungary. History Settlement at Kežmarok dates back to the Up ...
. His brother is the priest , who is known for his charitable activities and hardline conservative opinions. He studied at the University of Prešov. Before joining politics, Kuffa worked for public employment service. From 2004 to 2020, he was the director of the
Hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
of
Saint Elisabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (, , ; 7 July 120717 November 1231), also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary and the landgravine of Thuringia. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her hus ...
in Ľubica.


Political career

Kuffa first became politically active in 2016, when he was elected to the parliament on the list of the
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities Slovakia (), known as Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (, OĽANO) until 2023, is a populist political party in Slovakia. Founded in 2011 by former businessman Igor Matovič, the party champions anti-corruption, anti-elitist and ...
(OĽaNO) party. As an MP Kuffa was chiefly focused on attempting to restrict access to abortion and criminalizing abortion and IVF providers. In addition he became notorious for proposing controversial laws, such as a regulation of children toys "that resemble vampires" or a ban of the use of petrol lawn movers on Sundays. He also proposed that politicians who reside far from the capital should be excused from parliament deliberations on Friday after 1pm in order for them to be able to travel home for the weekend. In November 2015, Kuffa was accused of physical alteration with a local elderly women, who was protesting the plans of his son, Michal, to build a house in the village of Pavľany without a construction permit. Kuffa claimed it was in fact the 79 years old woman who slapped him without provocation and announced he would press charges for assault of a public official. In response to the conflict, the leader of OĽaNO
Igor Matovič Igor Matovič (born 11 May 1973) is a Slovak politician and former businessman. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and List of Ministers of Finance of Slovakia, Minister of Finance from April 2021 to December 2022 and prim ...
criticized Kuffa for abusing the position of MP to advance his private agenda and banned Kuffa from running on the party list in the next elections. Following the end of cooperation with OĽaNO, Kuffa briefly joined the
Christian Democratic Movement The Christian Democratic Movement (, KDH) is a Christian democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ...
. However, the party leadership refused to include him on the election list and subsequently he left to establish a new party
Life – National Party Life – National Party (, Život), formerly known as Christian Democracy – Life and Prosperity – Alliance for Slovakia (, KDŽP), is a Far-right politics, far-right Christianity, Christian List of political parties in Slovakia, political par ...
. The party competed in the
2020 Slovak parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 29 February 2020 to elect all 150 members of the National Council. The populist Ordinary People and Independent Personalities–NOVA–Christian Union–Change from Below (OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ ...
on the list of the extreme-right
People's Party Our Slovakia Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia (, ĽSNS) is a far-right, neo-Nazi political party in Slovakia. The party claims to derive its origin from the legacy of Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso. Positioned on the far-right of the political spect ...
and Kuffa again became an MP. Nonetheless, just three months after the election the Life politicians, including Kuffa, disassociated themselves with the People's Party due to its extremist views. In a similar fashion to his first term as an MP, Kuffa represented conservative legal agenda, in particular with regards to abortion and LGBT rights, arguing homosexuality is an illness similar to HIV. In July 2021, Kuffa and his sons Filip and Štefan were accused by their neighbors of taking over their land using fraudulent legal claims, as well as using physical violence and murder threats against the neighbors to bully them into giving up their land. Once again, Kuffa claimed he was the victim of violence. In
2023 Slovak parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in the Slovakia, Slovak Republic on 30 September 2023 to elect members of the National Council (Slovakia), National Council. Regular elections were scheduled to be held in 2024. However, on 15 December 202 ...
, Life party successfully ran on the list of the
Slovak National Party The Slovak National Party (, SNS) is an ultranationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values. Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak pa ...
. Following the election he became a State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture. Later that November, Kuffa gave at a mass in the Saint Nicolas Church at Trnava. In his speech, Kuffa announced the ministry of culture will stop the "gender ideology", criticized the use of vaccines, and proposed declaring Jesus Christ the king of Slovakia with the presence of the entire government and church leadership. The speech attracted widespread condemnation from the opposition politician, accusing Kuffa of undermining the secular nature of the state. The liberal theologian Samuel Jezný called Kuffa's speech "an advertisement for atheism". The Conference of Slovak Bishops likewise criticized the speech, stressing that churches should be places devoted to prayers and "divisive political rhetoric" does not belong there. The culture minister Martina Šimkovičová said the proposal is a private activity of Kuffa and does not have the endorsement of the ministry. On 29 November 2023 Kuffa was reassigned from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Environment. In August 2024, Kuffa interrupted the play
Little Gem ''Little Gem'' is a play written by Dublin playwright Elaine Murphy and was first produced by Guna Nua at Dublin’s 2008 Fringe Festival, September 9–13 in Project Cube, before transferring to The Loose End Studio at the Civic Theatre, Tallag ...
performed by the actresses of the
National Theatre Košice The National Theatre Košice () is situated in the centre of Košice, Slovakia. The representative building of the State Theatre was built in a Neo-baroque style according to projects of Adolf Lang during the years 1879–1899. The interior of t ...
at a festival in the
Malá Franková Malá Franková (, , ) is a village and municipality in the Kežmarok District of the Prešov Region of north Slovakia. It is traditionally inhabited by Gorals, as one of their westernmost settlements (along with Veľká Franková and Osturňa). ...
village. Kuffa, who was present in the audience, interrupted the play by loudly demanding that children are not allowed to continue watching the "perverted" play. His behavior was met with loud condemnation of the theatre members and other spectators as well as subsequent calls from the opposition from his resignation.


Personal life

Kuffa is married with eight children and seventeen grandchildren.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuffa, Stefan 1961 births Living people OĽaNO politicians People's Party Our Slovakia politicians Slovak National Party politicians Christian Democratic Movement politicians Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2020–2023 Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2012–2016 Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2023–2027 People from Kežmarok Slovak Catholics